Commons

Different strategies to contest forestry extractivism in Chile show the complexity of these conflicts, with an overlap of present and historical political issues at different levels.* Tree plantations: old and new forms of dispossession Tree plantations are monocultures of a single tree species, typically fast growing species such as eucalypts, poplars, acacias and pines, designed to supply external markets … Continue reading Struggling for land and water: resistances to tree plantations in Southern Chile

A political ecology syllabus for post-graduates, based on courses offered during ENTITLE, and designed for a taught course or for self-study, is now freely available online. This post-graduate syllabus is the product of training events in political ecology, specifically summer schools and Special Intensive Courses (SIC) conducted within the ENTITLE FP7 Initial Training Network project. … Continue reading Political ecology syllabus for postgraduates

By Jose Luis Vivero Pol* The conventional food system is increasingly failing to fulfill its basic goals: feeding people adequately and sustainably, and avoiding hunger. We need a governance paradigm shift towards the re-commoning of food. In the dystopian film In Time (2011), the main character works literally to earn his life, as the monthly currency is time for living. Billionaires … Continue reading Food is a global public good and a commons

"With enough of us, around the world, we'll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we'll make it a thing of the past. Will you join us?" [This piece was first published on November 30 2015, in custodians.online] In Antoine de Saint Exupéry's tale the Little Prince meets a businessman … Continue reading In solidarity with Library Genesis and Sci-Hub

By David Bollier*. An important new book offering a vision of commons-based law has just arrived! The Ecology of Law argues that we need to reconceptualise law itself and formally recognise commoning if we are going to address our many environmental problems. [This piece was first published on 9 October 2015 in David Bollier's blog news … Continue reading Highly Recommended: Capra & Mattei’s “The Ecology of Law”